What Does the Future Hold for a Crystal Gem?
by boris-the-red
Summary: After a prolonged battle with Malachite causes greater destruction to the Earth before the Cluster could be defeated, the Crystal Gems rest before moving on to other tasks. Conditions continue to decline however, as a chain of events set in motion a series of unending problems for the Gems. Realising this, Steven is left to wonder, 'What does the future hold for a Crystal Gem'


**Prologue Episode:** Before "Steven Floats".

 **Preface:** _Original Post Date, 24_ _th_ _June 2016._

(As cheap as it may seem, I will be prefacing most if not all 'episodes' with the genres so people know, 'cause I couldn't fit it in to the summary, as well as who's in it and such. Unless told otherwise, I will keep doing it.)

 **Heh, I posted this the day before my birthday. Isn't that cute? Anyway.**

 **Genres:** Adventure, Family, Humour, Romance.

 **Characters:** Steven U., Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Greg U., Peridot, Lapis Lazuli, Jasper, et al.

 _ **Spoilers**_ **for Season 3 of Steven Universe. Specifically** _ **Super Watermelon Island**_ **and** _ **Gem Drill**_ **. You have been warned.**

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 **PROLOGUE EPISODE**

It was early evening in Beach City, Delmarva, when a brightly labelled van rolled through the misty town. The night was tranquil and still. A park light stood alone on a street corner, and as the van drove passed the dim marigold bulb illuminated the van's funky fonted design; Mr. Universe. The home and driving back-pocket of the eponymous human father rumbled low as it made it's final stretch and run for the night, returning to where it hadn't been in a month's time.

The van of Mr Greg Universe passed the U-Stor storage complex, of many things bought, treasured, deposed and misused; and the local inn where newcomers retire for the night after a long day, or for the day after a long night. After that was the attractions boardwalk, where many things bright, tasty, fun and pricey were winding down for the post-sunset hours, where business was slow, but no less important. And finally the Big Donut, where many treats, including the staff, were kept and sold being closed up for the night by Employee of the Month and soon-to-be Region Manager Sadie Miller. Mr. Universe exchanged waves with the young woman as the van left the pavement and crossed to the sand of the Beach City's namesake beach.

It skirted lazily around the enormous verdant cliff, which housed within it the ancient Temple to the millennia-old guardians of the Earth, the sole protectors of humanity and entrusted warriors of the late Rose Quartz, the Crystal Gems.

It was here, at the base of the structure, that the labelled van came to a reversing rest. And on the grassed incline exited the two occupants of the overly filled vehicle-home. Unloading large amounts of supplies and hauling them up and down the slope and steps to the porch, Greg opened the door to the cold, lonesome home of his son; the half-human, half-Gem heir of the Crystal Gems family, Steven.

Greg had been refurbishing the house a little to prepare for Steven and the Gems' return. They had spent a terse month or so preparing for, and neutralising, two massive enemy forces that threatened the human planet, and tonight was the night they would return home. He had kept his eye on the place in their absence, but never once thought to house himself there in the meantime. It didn't feel right to intrude when they weren't home, it wasn't made for him after all. He made sure to replace or repair some things he'd meant to get back to for ages, cleared some things out and tidied things up while they were gone, and had spent the last few afternoons restocking for Steven and the Gems. Mostly for Steven, though, the others didn't use up anything unless it was directly related to Steven. Except for maybe Amethyst. Still it was a big task, and he enlisted the help of a friend for some of the heavier things and organising stuff over the last month and afternoons.

While they made the last-minute adjustments for a hassle-free return – such as placing Steven's new mattress beside the door, and restocking the fridge – Greg spoke about the Gem's activity in the last month, while his friend listened quietly or returned questions to keep the conversation going. Many things about the Gems were brought up:

For starters, how the recent earthquakes had ended and the world was safe again thanks to the direct actions of these "heroes" as Greg described them; who had boldly and wholly given themselves to the task of protecting the planet from threats near and far, fresh and ancient, and until recently, relatively unknown. And they did so without bargain or gratitude, and without permission or reward. It was their duty to protect this planet and all on it, even if it meant at their expense.

And most recently only barely, but surely enough they did. Simply put, the Gems had done it. Twenty-eight gruelling hours of toil and terror, and altogether they had stopped the Cluster, defeated Malachite and saved the planet Earth once again. And although this was a result of the combined efforts of the entire team, it was more resoundingly due to the newly discovered abilities of his son Steven.

Greg recounted how about a year ago Steven had spawned a race of sentient watermelon duplicates of himself by spitting melon seeds one day, and which he recently discovered he could link to in his sleep, and through which he managed to warn his team of the whereabouts of the unstable fusion Malachite. And although this warning was invaluable, he could not predict the immense battle that awaited them on Mask Island, where the Watermelon Stevens and the fusion were located. Many hours were spent waged against the powerful fusion, and even with the assistance of Steven telepathically leading his watermelon spawn in an offensive alongside the Crystal Gem fusion Alexandrite, more pressing matters arose.

The Cluster – a forced fusion amalgam Gem-monster at the centre of the Earth – had begun the final stages of it's gestation, and was ready to burst forth from the planet and complete a millennia old plan to terraform the planet for Homeworld Gem use. In the middle of the fighting with Malachite, Steven was forced to flee to help his new friend-turned-Crystal-Gem-teammate Peridot in drilling through the Earth's crust and mantle to the core, where the Cluster was located, and stop it from destroying the planet.

As Steven struggled to assist in both ventures, many more hours were spent trying to bring a swift end to both. When neither seemed possible, the world faced greater devastation and destruction, and almost certain doom. Exhausted, Steven was rendered unconscious, and in that moment he made a connection with the Cluster's consciousness in his sleep. Communing with it for the first time in it's existence, Steven learned that the shards that constitute the Cluster retained the consciences of the Crystal Gems of ancient times who'd been shattered to make it, with phantoms of their former selves crying out to be made whole again. The Cluster was programmed to take form after millennia of being disparate, incomplete shards of once whole Gem beings, and be fulfilled of it's sole desire, destroying the Earth in the process. But Steven found a peaceful solution, and he was able to appeal to the Gems that constituted it's horrific form, and their belief in protecting the planet. His kindness and compassion convinced the consciousness to encase themselves in a combined energy bubble, whereby they wouldn't be alone or separate anymore. They would be consolidated into a new life-form, all together.

When asked by his friend how Steven could've done that by himself, Greg answered that Steven's humanity gave him a "positive outlook" on living things, and mixed with his unique powers meant such a solution was something only he could achieve. It was unlikely any other Gem could've interfaced with the amalgam Gem, let alone sympathise with it enough to appeal to their collective goodness, to safeguard them and his home planet all at once. His humanity saved the planet from certain destruction. He brought them to a new wholeness. Altogether. He and he alone stopped the Cluster, peacefully, and reunited a family once disseminated and lost amongst themselves for countless centuries.

Having completed their adjustments Greg and his friend moved to the porch for an evening beverage and continued to chat about the Gems' latest adventures, where Greg mentioned also how family was a major factor in Steven's successes:

On Steven's return to the surface with Peridot, he attempted to assist again with the battle with Malachite. But this time, with an edge. His experience with the Cluster's consciousness had taught him how to destabilise fusions. Returning to the battlefield, the enormous Gem fusions had taken their fighting further out to the turbulent sea, where the Watermelon Steven's couldn't get involved. With a struggle, Steven connected to the sub-consciousness of Alexandrite, amplified through several Watermelon Stevens that had been swallowed by Malachite. In this way he was able to speak with his team and coach them on how to destabilise the enemy fusion without any more fighting.

At the same time, Alexandrite spoke to Malachite, while Steven through the Watermelon Steven's in Malachite's belly, spoke to Lapis Lazuli and Jasper. The split attention and tactical wordplay placed the fusion into a weakened position where Alexandrite could strike, and together the four minds of the Gems managed to split the two opponent Gems. Now split they were too weak to continue fighting, and were promptly captured.

The Gems, with the help of Steven's trusted animal friend Lion, then returned to their makeshift home of the Universe Barn to their awaiting comrades, who'd rustled up some s'mores to celebrate and chat about the last day and a half of their lives'.

Following this, the Gems believed they deserved a rest. But events proved stressful as Lazuli, Peridot and Jasper clashed with the Gems and one another, and required much needed resolving before the Gems could consider taking a break. Proving to be too much of an aggressor to handle so soon, Jasper was left with the Watermelon Stevens on their Island on what Steven called 'Time Out'. He promised to visit weekly to check on her progress, having informed the Watermelon Steven's of the deal, which they wholeheartedly – or whole-seededly – agreed to.

Peridot desired to stay at the UUU Space Travel Barn, which Lazuli will also share (begrudgingly), and she has left it open to visits from Steven and the Gems. From time to time. Steven with great exemption, of course. Both Peridot and Lazuli wished to continue seeing Steven, both having deep bonds of friendship with the boy, especially from the events of the past week.

With all that covered; their new planet-home-guests squared away to their new living arrangements, and after a dangerous yet hilarious brush with a squad of Homeworld Rubies in a game of baseball, the Gems finally allowed themselves to return home for some much needed rest and relaxation. And stepping onto the nearby Warp Pad brought that desire nearer and nearer to reality.

Over a month had been spent away from their old home, and they each had something they missed that they were eager to return to. The Crystal Gems kinfolk each took a moment to bask as they teleported from the outer countryside of Beach City all the way through the Warping Nexus to be brought back to their comfortable stone-to-wooded floors of their human abode. They spotted Greg through the doorway as he bid farewell to his friend, and he entered back in switching on the lights,

"Welcome back everybody!" Greg cheered, before noticing the state of the family,

"Dad!" Steven cried, running to him and catching him in a powerful hug.

The Gems would have attempted to make the reception warmer, but their spirits were awfully drained and their movements were sluggish with tire as they landed back home in the ending twinkles of the Warp Pad,

"We're HOOOOOOME!" Amethyst announced bombastically, entering the house and falling to the floor like a stone as her foot met wooden planks.

"Now Amethyst, how many ti-iiiii-mes do I have to tell you… to scooch over." Pearl yawned a command to her home-grown teammate and family member. She promptly brushed Amethyst aside, and uncharacteristically cosied up beside her and fell asleep on the floor of the Beach House. Greg looked between them all,

"Jeez, you guys look really beat." He noted as his son reared backwards to talk and point animatedly around him, seeming to lift higher and higher on his tippy-toes the faster he spoke,

"Naw, Dad, they're Gems! They'll be up and at'em before you know it. Hey! Who was your friend? Can we meet him? There's so much I wanna do now that I'm back, let's go see you friend and-"

"Steven, stay inside, it's past your bed-time." Greg toned sternly, beating Garnet to it whilst she stood with her arms-crossed at the foot of Pearl and Amethyst,

"Yeah, that's probably for the best." Steven relented, bringing his hand off the door handle, "Because…" he yawned suddenly,

"I… am… POOPED!" Steven announced grandly, punctuating each word with a step towards the others, plopping to the floor with a huff, before rubbing his eye not unlike a sleepy toddler.

"And you look like one tooooooooerrrrrrrrrgh…" Amethyst's rebuttal turned into a snoring drawl as she curled up on the cold wooden floor, drawing her slender teammate and family over herself like a stretched blanket,

"Pleaz unfand me…" Pearl said with her face buried in Amethyst's mane.

"Noooooooooooo…" Amethyst crooned as Pearl repositioned them and Steven tried to 'assist' them off of the floor, but instead collapsed on them both,

"I-…I think… gah," he paused to yawn in a little more air, heaving just from the small exertion of having Amethyst make him her blanket and making himself comfortable. "I think that we shou-… wuoh…"

A shadow slowly eclipsed the three drowsy Gems,

"HmmSteven'scollapsed…Door'stillopen…" Garnet toned to Greg, who cautiously watched her long, drawling footsteps as she closed the door firmly behind the human father. The firm impact caused the new mattress Greg got for Steven to teeter over, and Greg rushed over to catch it,

"Hoh, boy…" he whistled before he repositioned it and rested his back against it.

Garnet surveyed her family – all strewn across the floor. The odd family unanimously agreed for an early turn-in that night; Steven was currently dozing away heartily across Pearl and Amethyst, comfortably locking two of his family to the floor. She glanced down to him, and then to the stairs leading to his bed. Even though she knew she could manage the trek, and that Steven would benefit from a good night's rest in a warm bed, she didn't feel like climbing anymore steps.

"Heh, guess the last week has taken more out of you guys than you thought." Greg surmised about the three on the floor with an amazed chuckle and a sheepish grin, to which Garnet groaned in agreeance. She examined his refurbishments around the house and then turned to him,

"You too. Why don't you stay the night?"

"Oh no, I really shou- whoa!" Greg halted as Garnet, stoically, scooped up him and the others and led them over to the couch and plopped them onto it in a tangled clump of Gems and humans, while she stretched a free limb over to catch Steven's new mattress and reeled it over for the living room floor, while using the other to pat away a yawn,

"The things I do for love…"

She then quickly arranged the Gems and Greg into their positions with pillows and blankets and clicked her left fingers at the fireplace.

The fireplace sparked to life and the houselights switched off. Surveying her handiwork with a stony gaze, Garnet nodded, stood to her full height, and fell face-first onto the mattress, causing the entire group to lift off from their cushioning and land down again, none batting an eyelid while easing off to sleep.

"Uh, Garnet…" All except one,

"Shush Greg… let my arms lull you to sleep." She toned drowsily after having caught him from his launch from the mattress and his crash landing back to earth, and held him in a firm yet limp embrace on the unpacked bed.

He attempted to adjust for room, "Hrmm…" But she breathed a final "shh" to him as she began to snore. Pinned, he decided to get comfy, which was surprisingly easy he found out.

While he waited for the sandman to take him to sleep-town he took a moment to take in the bizarre scene around him: The Gems each looked tussled and beat, his son included, and while he was fine, at his age he was far from spry. Even so, he'd known the Gems the longest of any human on the planet, and was stupefied by them all doing something he never thought possible, after achieving so many impossible things already; saving the world from two Gem-monsters and turning in for the night like a regular worker family.

Garnet and he, the two largest, took his son's new mattress, Pearl and Steven who are arguably the smallest were cuddled together on the length of the couch, with Amethyst on the couch-corner sprawled out widely, and snoring the loudest. Each one blanketed and warmed gently by the nearby fire.

It was so unusual and far from what he knew the Gems to be like, that he felt like he didn't quite fit the picture – he squirmed in Garnet's arms which made her squeeze tighter – but far be it from him to deny a warm night's sleep. On an actual mattress!

As he let the night ease him to sleep, he had to admit, he had actually hoped for a moment like this from the Gems. A sleepy night-in with the whole family. He looked straight above him to the portrait of Rose… and then over to his darling son. His family. Their family. Altogether. All snug in their beds… more or less. He smiled a cherishing smile, setting this moment to memory.

With the last glimpse of consciousness, he whispered sweetly,

"Goodnight Steven…"

"Goodnight Greg." The Gems all responded, mid-snore.

"G'night Daaa…" Steven mumbled happily in his sleep, nuzzling into the hold of Pearl, facing the direction of his father's voice. Greg chuckled to himself and settled in to one of the most comforting sleeps of his life, to the thoughts of his family, resting together safe and sound.

Hours passed in the household with no irk or mire to disturb them. This was the second night's rest the family had had together in their entire union. Their bodies tired yet their minds alight with dreams of past, present and future; dances of desire with projections of the ones they loved, across plains of extravagance and chaotic beauty. Nonsensical happ'nin's designed to pique their mind's fancy conjured whilst they rest. Unfiltered and fully realised, their wildest fears and oddest delights played out before them. Strange to some, but familiar to all, the Crystal Gems dreamed, reunited in their fortress, their sanctum. Their home. Which Steven was delighted to bring his family back to.

Returning to Beach City brought bubbling to the surface a lot of feelings for Steven. Simple things – the richest source of fun and excitement, he often likes to say – were some of the easiest to miss when they were gone. Like the bugs that line the pavement, or the noisy chirps or general kerfuffle of the town's buildings, or the odd smell of the sea and the trash and the plants and the foods. It brought him right back to what he'd left behind, welcoming him like an old friend.

The mist rolling in from the sea made it hard to tell what the town looked like from the Barn, he could only hope it hadn't flipped-turned upside down after he'd been gone for so long! He was eager to reintroduce himself to the town and all it's people. This used to be his whole world, and it was strange to be so close while at the Barn, yet so far; so long since he'd seen it, but not really that long at all. It made him wonder why he'd ever fussed about having to go, or needing to stay. But at the same time he understood why he would have to leave.

He knew he had his duty to stop the Cluster, and his responsibilities have been more demanding lately. But he's consistently risen to the challenge. He'd been the best help he could be the whole time the Drill was being made, was on his best behaviour and softened up Peridot enough to try to make nice with the others. Not to mention all the other important stuff he'd done in the meantime! And that was nowhere near close to that one day where he'd managed to stop two monsters – both of which weren't really monsters; one was a friend stuck to a mean-Gem-but-who-might-become-a-friend-soon-hopefully and the other was a bunch of Gem-shards stuck to each other that was actually just trying to feel complete again. Totally understandable situations, anybody would agree. It was a lot to handle, but he did it!

The Gems say he's grown more in the past month than he has in the last decade, when in truth he's aged a lot since the building of the Drill started. Figuratively, and a little literally. He's one year older. One year closer to being allowed to drive. And one year closer to when Connie might invite him to Prom – he has the perfect dress-corsage-dancing-suit combination lined up for it. And one year closer to when he might be brave enough to have his first kiss. That made him one year more experienced than he had been the year before! And twice as handsome, if he does say so himself. But this also meant he had more responsibility as a Crystal Gem. The Gems have trusted much on him in the last month, he would have to step up and do more if he wanted to be worthy of the Gem on his belly.

The Gems have been mentioning it a lot, though. How much he's changed, and how much he can do now, or how much they will let him do and how much they expect him to handle now. And each time they did, he noticed, their expressions had changed, also. The way they see him, how he can… _do_ so much more than they imagined. It was an odd mix of pride, shocked-surprise, relief and looking pleased. Like when he had told them of the Watermelon Stevens – or Water-Stevie's as he liked to call them – and how he helped them in the fight, and then the Cluster, and then the talk-down in the fight, and then Lapis, and Jasper, and those five Rubies. Everything lately has made them see something new in him. That he was… he didn't even know. Because to him, and to them, he was still Steven! Just a little bit different. Maybe 'cause he was older? That one facial hair does make quite the difference, he must say. Although otherwise, he was clear. He felt the same. He smelled the same. And he hugged the same too, which he'd never let them forget. But there was going to be more for him to do now. He could feel it. And so they'd have more for him to do as a Gem and as a human person. And it was here that he realised that finally, he's being treated as more of an equal. As a real member of the team.

Sure, it made him feel like a giddy kid whose told he's the new cool superhero on the Team of already cool superheroes, but still! He's becoming a real team-member now! It made him giddy-fuzzy inside. Although he was too sleepy to show it now, he'd make sure to sing about it in the morning. Deep sleep took him into it's warm embrace and he snored onwards through the night.

While the hours tolled and the family dreamt, the heir to the Gems did not dream of the usual things. Not of heroes and villains, not of cartoons and movies, not of action and romance. Tonight his dreams took him to a place of emptiness, a space of stars and gravity but little else. Below him was a plain, solid ring in which he stood in the centre. Suspended above him were the enormous moving pieces of a machine he couldn't recognise, and when he looked directly up at them, altogether they looked a little like a clock, but when he leaned his head they were just lines of light and shadow. Silently he gazed, wondering what it was he was dreaming about. In moments like this, when he stops and thinks, he likes to think of music that would suit the atmosphere. Tonight, looking at where he was, feeling the atmosphere of the place, he thought of a stringed instrument, being played with the longest bow imaginable, stretching the single note onward; and the reversed sound of a deep, thin bell struck once every five seconds, the sound slowed so much you could hear every single micro-waver of the air within the metal cup.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and the music became real. The space of stars and emptiness played a single long stringed note, and the lines and curves above him rung the slow chime in reverse, mimicking the slowed sound of a ticking clock. Relaxed, he took a single step forward off of the ring and the universe expanded below his feet.

Millennia raced past as he witnessed it unfold in hyper-speed, making a sound that he always thought time-travel would make. Time and history changed the course of planets, star systems, living beings and civilisations, as a large beam of light stretched outward from his shadow and the music grew louder. Spectrums of colour and unknown shapes blurred and disappeared passed the 'window' of his view, too enormous to forget but too fast to imprint any detail to memory. Then the universe focused deeper and quicker into a finite, single star system, to one celestial orb, to an exact spot on the planet, to an exact moment of time, and resumed to normal, digestible speed.

It was the evening Steven and the Gems were preparing to leave Lapis and Peridot at the Barn, and the space and the clock played new notes that reminded him of that time, mimicking the wind and the crickets and feeling of leaving. At the moment that Steven and his family set foot on the Warp Pad, he stepped off the beam of light, and the world stopped. He turned and saw that the window stretched further than he could see into it's own horizon, and for the portion that he could see was frozen beneath a plain through which he could not intrude but only watch; ethereal from himself and where he was at that point in time. He realised he was outside himself, watching the events of the previous night as he took in the familiar night sky and familial faces present in this 'frame' of vision. Knowing this, he wondered what the light beam had to do with what he was seeing and doing, and why it separated the past event from the rest of the space of stars and emptiness. Curiously, he approached the light beam, seeing now silhouettes like darkened markings within it, which, when he looked at it correctly, made a series of dates going in reverse. He thought aloud in epiphany that it was a time-line of history, and wondered silently if this was a new power?

Noticing the orientation of the time-line and the 'window', he likened it to a video player, and wondered, if that were true, if he could move the events in the window back and forth by sliding along the time-line. He placed one foot on the beam of light, and watched as the window beneath his other foot rewound to five hours prior. The Gems were playing baseball with the Rubies, in the bottom of the seventh, and with the rapid pitch from 'Earl' he knew he was correct.

Ecstatic, he spun on the spot, rewinding and fast-forwarding the universe in his erratic dance of thought, not knowing where to go or what to watch. All this time to relive or re-remember, but what to focus on? He knew one thing: He wanted to see more about the Crystal Gems and himself, and with this 'power' he could see lots about them; the cool action, or the great loves, or some chilling suspense or their history of warfare or peace, but what did he want to see most? He stopped to think, holding his head and looking down, and upon hearing their laughter he witnessed Sapphire and Ruby's reunion and re-fusion into Garnet. Getting an idea, he ran to the other end of the beam of light. But that lead him back to the ring with the clock-like thing above it, and though it was too dark to see, he ran right into a reflection. The music returned to normal. Sitting back up and wanting to continue, he noticed with confusion that his reflection blocked his view forward, and looking outwards in every direction seemed to show the same thing; an exact mirror of everything behind him, a space of stars and emptiness on one side, and a frozen window of the universe on the other. He saw that the time-line did not extend beyond his last waking moments, and when he tried to follow it onward his gaze was brought back to the reflection blocking the path.

It mimicked him, which annoyed him. As strange as it was to think, knowing it was only a reflection, it felt like a second entity, moving on purpose to block him from seeing further in the time-line, and forcing him to look at it which made him feel scared. When he leaned one way, it did the same; when he tiptoed to look over it did the same. When he grabbed it and spun around it, turned around and looked at that side of the time-line, it did the same. And nothing changed. Disappointed, he looked back at his reflection; blurry and indistinct and with a feeling of unsubstantial-ness that upset him, which made him squint to focus on it that hurt his eyes and made him hate it more. It was an oily shadow, with two legs-ish and a round body, kind of, and two arm-things and a head of poufy hair. The only clear thing about it was that it had big white eyes. And that it did everything he did.

Annoyed, he pressed his hand against the reflection, admitting defeat, and looked out at the time-line he had seen already, but wanting to see the time-line he hadn't. With a sigh he thought deeply on what it was he wanted to see and he wondered it aloud, and let the thought echo through the space and the window and clear it of form and sound completely, until his emptied dreamscape resonated back to him:

What does the future hold for a Crystal Gem?

 **END OF PROLOGUE EPISODE**

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AUTHOR'S COMMENTARY:

 **So, yeah. This… has been a long time coming. It's certainly different from my last writing. I started working on this idea shortly after finishing Steven Universe Season 1 back in May or June of 2015, 'roundabouts. Yeah. A year ago. How dumb.**

 **This was more or less going to be my proposed Season 3 of Steven Universe. But, as many of you know, that ended up being very different. It is a fan-work of art, what can I say? Creative liberties are going to be taken :P.**

 **I'm not saying this as a means of leverage for your response to this, but this took a lot of time, effort and thought. A lot of consideration went into every facet (heh, Gemological humour) of this story. I just hope that that shows as it goes on.**

 **Spoilers for** ** _Super Watermelon Island_** **and** ** _Gem Drill_** **. Everything from here on out is either non-canon or semi-canon, depending on how the episodes turn out, and how frequently episodes or chapters are released. I like to play close to the shows I write about. More of a challenge, and makes it feel more correct, if you know what I mean?**

 **That is why I've decided to call these 'Episodes' rather than chapters. I'm taking an approach more akin to cartoon-writing – including some storyboarding – to get the tone and feel right in a more succinct fashion. One definite problem I have is taking too long to say what I want to say, so hopefully fitting to a reading experience analogous to an 11-minute episode around-about of a visually splendid, narratively intricate, and character-deep cartoon. Only time will tell.**

 **The K+ rating is a test on my own skill to colour within the lines of the show, and to see how well I can do 'kid-friendly' writing without going too serious or too simple or too dark or too far-fetched.**

 **Should I feel compelled, I may do an M rated aside story/series for things that cannot be stated in this story. Only time will tell :P**

 **I feel the need to preface that, although the tin says 'Adventure' and 'Family' there will be Humour and Romance in this story aplenty (hopefully). And this episodes will entail some shipping (more or less) but don't count on me to tell you who or what until you read it in full :P**

 **I have the episodes more or less mapped out, it is just a matter of filling in the blanks to complete the story, however best I can.**

 **I have no planned schedule for when or if these episodes come out – if you're a previous reader of mine, you no doubt know this by now. You and I will be just as lucky as one another when or if I get one out at all.**

 **Also, these Author's Commentary's are also going to be a recurring thing, seeing as how it is actually nice to talk about the BTS involved, rather than just kind of keeping it to myself. Feel free to ignore, that's fine. Just read and enjoy :)**

 **P.S. And for those wondering about Faunus in Heat, much like this story I'm taking a different approach which will hopefully make it more succinct and easier to complete, and in such a way that I won't become stuck too quickly.**


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